Corps of Army Music

Corps of Army Music
Cap Badge of the Corps of Army Music
Active	1994 to Present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
March	The Music Maker
Commanders
Colonel in Chief	The Countess of Wessex

The Corps of Army Music (CAMUS) is a Corps of the British Army dedicated to the provision and promotion of military music.

History

The formation of the Corps of Army Music was triggered by a defence review known as Options for Change in the early 1990s and followed a 1993 announcement by the Chief of the General Staff that the number of army bands was to be reduced from 69 to 30. The Queen signed a warrant on 13 August 1994 to allow the formation of the Corps of Army Music. This stated that it was Her will and pleasure that all officers who were Directors of Music in the various Corps and Regiments and that all army musicians should transfer to the Corps of Army Music - now the newest and most junior corps in the army - on 1 September 1994.^[1]

The home of the corps was established at Kneller Hall in Twickenham, a site that encompasses the Headquarters of the Corps of Army Music and the Royal Military School of Music. The school was founded by the Duke of Cambridge, soon after his appointment as Commander in Chief in 1857, when the first class of military musicians was formed, a 'Class of Music'. The establishment was retitled as The Royal Military School of Music by Queen Victoria in 1887.^[1]

The Future Army Structures review of 2006 saw the bands of the Regular Army reduced from 30 to 23.^[2]

Bands of the Corps

The bands of the corps are:^[3]

• The Band of The Household Cavalry - Hyde Park Barracks, London and Combermere Barracks Windsor
• The Band of the Royal Armoured Corps - Catterick, North Yorkshire
• The Royal Artillery Band - Tidworth
• The Band of the Corps of Royal Engineers - Chatham, Kent
• The Band of the Royal Corps of Signals - RAF Cosford, West midlands
• Band of the Grenadier Guards - Wellington Barracks, Central London
• Band of the Coldstream Guards -Wellington Barracks, Central London
• Band of the Scots Guards - Wellington Barracks, Central London
• Band of the Irish Guards - Wellington Barracks, Central London
• Band of the Welsh Guards - Wellington Barracks, Central London
• The Band of The Royal Regiment of Scotland - Edinburgh
• The Band of The Queen's Division - RAF Henlow, Bedfordshire
• The Band of The King's Division - near Preston
• The Band of The Prince of Wales' Division - St Athan, South Wales
• The Band and Bugles of The Rifles - Winchester
• The Band of The Parachute Regiment - Colchester
• The Band of The Brigade of Gurkhas - Shorncliffe, near Folkestone
• The Band of the Army Air Corps - Colchester
• The Band and Corps of Drums of The Royal Logistic Corps - Deepcut, near Camberley
• The Band of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers - Catterick, North Yorkshire
• The Band of the Adjutant General's Corps - near Winchester
• The Countess of Wessex String Orchestra - Woolwich, London
• The Yorkshire Band of The Royal British Legion, Barnsley South Yorkshire

The Future of the Corps of Army Music

The Future Army Music 2020 (FAM2020) was published in August 2013. It contained information about how the Corps of Army Music would be restructured and better suited to enable sustainable musical support to be provided to the Army and Defence supporting operations and defence diplomacy.^[4]

There will be:^[5]

• 1 64-piece symphonic wind band supplying marching and traditional music
  • The Band of The Household Cavalry
• 6 46-piece symphonic wind bands supplying marching and traditional music
  • Band of the Grenadier Guards
  • Band of the Coldstream Guards
  • Band of the Scots Guards
  • Band of the Irish Guards
  • Band of the Welsh Guards
  • The Band of The Royal Regiment of Scotland
• 2 35-piece wind band supplying marching and traditional music
  • The Band and Bugles of The Rifles
  • The Band of The Brigade of Gurkhas
• 6 35-piece multi capability bands supplying marching and contemporary music
  • The Band of the Royal Armoured Corps
  • The Royal Artillery Band
  • The Band of the Corps of Royal Engineers
  • The Band of The Queen's Division
  • The Band of The Parachute Regiment
  • The Band and Corps of Drums of The Royal Logistic Corps
• 3 32-piece Brass bands supplying marching and traditional music
  • The Band of the Royal Corps of Signals
  • The Band of The King's Division
  • The Band of The Prince of Wales' Division
• 1 24-piece String orchestra
  • The Countess of Wessex String Orchestra
• 3 15-piece Specialist bands supplying modern pop music
  • The Band of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
  • The Band of the Adjutant General's Corps
  • The Band of the Army Air Corps

These changes will be implemented between 2014 - 2018.

The regiments of the Life Guards and The Blues and Royals will have their bands merged to form a single band of the Household Cavalry.^[4]

The five Foot Guards Bands will remain in London, as Symphonic Wind Bands and the Edinburgh-based Band of The Royal Regiment of Scotland will grow to the same strength as the Foot Guards Bands.^[4]

The 10 man strong Light Cavalry Band will be amalgamated with the Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band to form the Band of the Royal Armoured Corps.^[4]

A string orchestra, to be known as the Countess of Wessex’s String Orchestra, will be based in Woolwich and manned with 24 personnel.^[6]

Army Reserve Bands

Prior to Options for Change and the formation of the Corps of Army Music most regiments, especially in the infantry, maintained their own military bands. This tradition is now continued by the Army Reserve, who retain regimental and corps bands. Army Reserve Bands are not part of the Corps of Army Music. They are still under the direct command of their parent corps or regiment.

There are currently 20 Reserve Military Bands located across the UK and Gibraltar:^[7]

• Band of the Honourable Artillery Company
• Regimental Band (Inns of Court and City Yeomanry) of the Royal Yeomanry
• Lancashire Artillery Volunteers Band
• The Nottinghamshire Band of the Royal Engineers
• The (Northern) Band of the Royal Corps of Signals
• Lowland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland
• Highland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland
• Band of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires)
• Band of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
• Band of the Royal Anglian Regiment
• Volunteer Band of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment
• Band of The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment)
• Band of the Royal Welsh - The only Brass Band in the Reserve Army
• Band of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's Lancashire and Border)
• Band of the Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th & 33rd/76th Foot)
• The Band of The Mercian Regiment
• The Salamanca Band of The Rifles
• The Waterloo Band of The Rifles
• Band of 150 Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps
• Band of the Army Medical Services

Order of precedence

References

1. "Corps of Army Music: history". Retrieved 10 May 2014.
2. "Army's axe to fall on the marching bands". The Telegraph. 12 December 2004. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
3. "Bands of the corps". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
4. "Changes to the Corps of Army Music". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
5. "Our music - British Army Website". Army.mod.uk. Retrieved 2014-05-10.
6. "The Countess of Wessex's String Orchestra - British Army Website". Army.mod.uk. 2014-03-03. Retrieved 2014-05-10.
7. "Reserve Bands". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 10 May 2014.

External links

• Corps of Army Music - on British Army official website
• HQ CAMUS